Recap: How the Vikings rolled over Giants in 28-6 season-opening win

This is the live report from the Vikings’ season opener at MetLife Stadium against the Giants. To read Ben Goessling’s analysis of the Vikings’ 28-6 win, go here.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Vikings began the year espousing the theory they could return to the playoffs in 2024 by coaxing the best out of quarterback Sam Darnold, building a run game they could trust and making progress on defense behind a deeper group of pass rushers than they had in 2023.

Though they’ll face tougher tests than they got Sunday at MetLife Stadium, they passed the first one about as comfortably as they could have wished.

They held a 22-point lead — the largest of Kevin O’Connell’s coaching tenure — for most of the fourth quarter on Sunday, finishing with a 28-6 win over the Giants for their most lopsided victory since a 39-10 win over the Chargers in 2019. Darnold completed 15 of his first 17 passes through three quarters, finishing 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while the Vikings sacked Daniel Jones five times and hit him 12 times.

Why it happened: The Vikings did exactly what they’d said all summer they planned to do. Jones, who fileted the Vikings’ defense in a playoff performance that got him a four-year, $160 million deal and cost Ed Donatell his job, was flustered by Brian Flores’ pressure schemes throughout the game. Aaron Jones carried 13 times for 93 yards, leading a rushing attack that proved effective throughout the day. And Darnold looked in command, hitting Justin Jefferson with one of the deep throws he had completed throughout camp and capping off a 99-yard drive with a fourth-down score to Jefferson.

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What it means: The win puts the Vikings atop the NFC North to start the year, after they began last season with three straight losses that turned the rest of the season into a scramble. The turnover-laden start to the 2023 season had grated at O’Connell since last year, and it informed much of his training camp messaging to the 2024 Vikings. Things will get tougher with the 49ers and Texans up next, but the Vikings might not have to face Jordan Love in a Week 4 trip to Green Bay.

Play of the game: On the Giants’ first play of a third-quarter drive from their own 17-yard line, Andrew Van Ginkel took a soft edge while rushing off the right side of the line, putting himself in perfect position to intercept the screen pass he seemed to know was coming. He stuck one hand in the air to snag the ball just 1.16 seconds after the snap, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and scored the fourth touchdown of his career on the interception.

Turning point: The Vikings led 7-3 in the second quarter and took over at their own 1 after forcing a Giants punt. Darnold completed all seven of his passes for 97 yards and a score on the 99-yard drive, the Vikings’ longest since 2008 against Chicago.

Up next: vs. 49ers, Sept. 15, noon. Defending NFC champion San Francisco opens its season Monday night against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.

NFL Week 1 scoreboard

Here’s how the Vikings’ season opener played out, with updates by Andrew Krammer:

Though the third quarter ended with the Giants at the Vikings’ 24, following a Sam Darnold interception after Dexter Lawrence hit his arm, they still had their biggest lead of Kevin O’Connell’s tenure.

Andrew Van Ginkel’s touchdown, the fourth of his career, came as the latest highlight from a Brian Flores defense that’s commanded the day at MetLife Stadium. They’ve hit Daniel Jones nine times and sacked him on four occasions. He’s completed just 16 of his 32 passes for 148 yards today, and was intercepted by Harrison Smith in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings have run 15 times for 72 yards; we’d expect to see them hand off more in the fourth quarter as they try to put the game away. They’ll also have to monitor Jordan Addison’s health; the wide receiver left early in the third quarter after he re-injured his ankle on a screen pass that was nullified by a Christian Darrisaw holding penalty. Addison walked to the locker room with a towel over his head, and was quickly ruled out. — BEN GOESSLING

Edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, the veteran ex-Dolphins defender who signed with the Vikings in free agency, has also had a strong debut in purple. After twice hitting Giants quarterback Daniel Jones in the first half, Van Ginkel made an incredible leaping interception to nab a quick throw from Jones and turn it into a 10-yard return for a touchdown. This is Van Ginkel’s fourth NFL touchdown, and his second in front of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who watched in 2020 as Van Ginkel intercepted then-Rams quarterback Jared Goff for a pick six.

Read more about Van Ginkel.

On the Giants’ first drive of the second half, Daniel Jones was sacked twice but had two long completions to Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson on an 11-play drive that ended with a 50-yard field goal by Graham Gano.

Vikings receiver Jordan Addison (ankle) ruled out for the rest of the game with an ankle injury, the team announced. Addison was coming back from a high ankle sprain suffered Aug. 14. He had three catches for 35 yards.

Running back Aaron Jones’ speed and decisiveness has been an obvious improvement for the Vikings’ rushing attack. Jones ripped off back-to-back runs for 12 and 19 yards, the latter a quick, one-cut counter play that duped the Giants defense into giving him open grass. On the next play, quarterback Sam Darnold found receiver Jalen Nailor for a 21-yard touchdown. Nailor had one-on-one coverage thanks to receiver Justin Jefferson attracting multiple defenders on that side of the field.

The Vikings hold a 14-3 lead that feels pretty comfortable considering continued self-inflicted wounds by the New York Giants: six penalties for 66 yards, dropped passes, and a bobbled punt return just before halftime that was secured at the last second by a Giants player. The Vikings still have the first half’s only turnover, a fumble by fullback C.J. Ham, but quarterback Sam Darnold has led the more explosive offense.

Darnold completed 13 of 14 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. However, Darnold’s only incompletion illustrated the fine line that coaches want him to walk. Darnold held onto the ball for a few ticks before rifling a pass over the middle and into tight coverage, where Giants safety Dane Belton batted the ball into the air. Fortunately for the Vikings, the ball fell to the turf incomplete.

The Vikings defense had Giants quarterback Daniel Jones in a blender. They have hit Jones six times, including sacks by edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner, while effectively mixing coordinator Brian Flores’ four-, five- and sometimes six-man blitzes.

Read more about rookie Dallas Turner.

The Giants downed a punt inside the Vikings’ 1-yard line at 13:39 of the second quarter, and Sam Darnold’s Vikings debut took flight.

The exclamation points on Minnesota’s second scoring drive were two tosses to receiver Justin Jefferson; the first gained 44 yards on a beautifully thrown deep ball from Darnold; the second came on fourth down, when head coach Kevin O’Connell kept his offense on the field at the 3-yard line. Darnold hit Jefferson on a quick slant for his 10th straight completion and first touchdown as Vikings quarterback. Darnold has completed 10 consecutive passes to open the game for 136 yards and the score.

The 99-yard scoring drive was the team’s longest since Nov. 30, 2008, against the Bears, according to the Vikings.

The first connection between Sam Darnold and Justin Jefferson during the 2024 season was a big one. Early in the second quarter, Darnold hit Jefferson for a 44-yard game with the team backed up in its own territory at their own 10.

Jefferson told Ben Goessling before the season that he told his new QBs, “I want to go up and make a play for them whenever they give me the chance.”

The Vikings lead 7-3 at the end of the first quarter in a game that’s been filled with mistakes for both teams.

The Giants were flagged twice in the last three snaps of the first quarter, and ended it with five penalties called against them for 56 yards. The Vikings had an 11-yard Aaron Jones run wiped out by a Garrett Bradbury holding penalty, though the 36-yard penalty on Adoree Jackson helped turn that drive into a touchdown that gave the Vikings the lead after C.J. Ham’s fumble opened the game.

The Vikings ran just eight plays for 41 yards in the first quarter, and held the ball for only 5:02 as a result of the early turnover. They also haven’t targeted Justin Jefferson yet, though their pressure packages have largely held the Giants’ passing game in check and forced Daniel Jones to hold the ball while trying to decipher their coverages. — BEN GOESSLING

Vikings receiver Jordan Addison sparked the Vikings offense without having to catch the ball. While tracking and trying to come back to an underthrown Sam Darnold pass, Addison drew a 36-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Giants cornerback Adoree Jackson. That pushed the Vikings into scoring range, where tight end Josh Oliver caught a 22-yard pass over the middle. Running back Aaron Jones finished off the drive with a sprint to the pylon – flashing the playmaking speed that he showed for years in Green Bay – for a touchdown. The Vikings leapt to a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

The Vikings entered this game against the Giants needing to make fewer mistakes than their opponent. That plan did not get off to a good start at MetLife Stadium, where the typically reliable fullback C.J. Ham fumbled away the team’s opening possession at the 20-yard line. Six plays later, the Giants got on the board with a 23-yard field goal thanks, in part, to rookie edge rusher Dallas Turner jumping offsides. The good news for Vikings fans is this Giants offense remains lifeless with Daniel Jones at quarterback. In nine plays, they have yet to target first-round receiver Malik Nabers.

We are minutes from kickoff at MetLife Stadium, where we will get our first real look at the Vikings’ plans for the new NFL kickoff format. Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels has said running back Ty Chandler will be their primary kick returner.

Quarterback Sam Darnold will have nearly every target available to him during his Vikings debut on Sunday at the New York Giants.

Receiver Jalen Nailor may not be fully healthy from sprained ankle that limited him in practice last week, but he’ll play through the issue. Nailor practiced through the injury this week, which head coach Kevin O’Connell liked to see after the third-year receiver has battled a variety of injuries throughout his young career.

“I look at this with his ankle [injury] as kind of affirmation of what’s really the next step for him, which is sometimes working through something,” O’Connell said Friday. “And I’m proud of the way he went about it. I’m proud of the way he responded to attacking his treatment. ... It’s been a process for him throughout early on in his career. And it’s always been about Jalen’s ability to be on the field and be consistently out there.”

Receiver Jordan Addison is also available to play. He is farther ahead in his recovery than Nailor, O’Connell said, from a high ankle sprain suffered Aug. 14 during a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns.

Quarterback Brett Rypien, who was signed about 10 days ago, is available as the emergency No. 3 quarterback.

The Vikings elevated safety Bobby McCain and running back Myles Gaskin from the practice squad on Saturday.

Giants receiver and returner Gunner Olszewski, who played at Bemidji State, aggravated a groin injury in pregame warmups and will not play.

Vikings’ inactives: WR Trishton Jackson, DL Jalen Redmond, DT Levi Drake Rodriguez, OT Walter Rouse, CB Fabian Moreau and CB Dwight McGlothern

Giants’ inactives: S Anthony Johnson, CB Tre Hawkins III, OLB Boogie Basham and OL Jake Kubas

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